Don't ask, don't tell

"I need to go back to the East, then head towards the South," Valdyr said, relieved that the orc had dropped the subject. "People here in the West are too weird for my taste. Shady past. Awful politics. People jumping at your throat for a look on the side."

"Tell me about it", Horknath said with a huff. "I don't care about politicians. Those snotty nobles really only think about throwing giant parties to the face of poor people and... oh, the stupid thing they call 'the Game'. It's really just the right way to interact with each other. You know, don't show your throat too much to the enemy, but don't get too defensive either. That stuff."

"Yeah," Valdyr sighed. "...Tell me about it." He looked around, remaining silent for a while, before he talked again. As if that subject too was making him feel uncomfortable. "Oh, we'll have to hunt for our food today, right?"

Horknath looked quizzically at him. Then he sighed. "Guess so", he said. Was it possible that everything he tried to talk about seemed to be the wrong thing? Oh, well. "Or we can get away with whatever we have left, if we don't want to lose time. IF we have stuff left."

Valdyr looked at him with amusement. "I've seen you gulp down that meat of yours. You sure you could manage two more days with the piece I cooked for you yesterday?"

Horknath thought it over for some seconds. He looked at him again. "No", he simply answered. "Well, you'll tell me when you want to hunt and eat. We follow your schedule here."

Valdyr nodded, and didn't talk much during the next hours, except when they had to agree on hunting together for food. Should we jump to a future point?

The inn's tavern was pretty crowded, and Horknath had never felt more at home. In the middle of all those misfits, it was more difficult to feel a lone castaway. "We stop here for tonight?", he asked Valdyr with a gesture. They had managed to get in the town just in time, as the guards were beginning to close the doors.

Valdyr nodded, going to check in for a room. He then came back to give Horknath the spare key. "There. Stay's on me. Just eat, do whatever you want to do tonight, but I sure am going to take a bath, then sleep like a baby."

Horknath took the spare key, pushing it into his pocket. "...what, not even staying for a beer? C'mon! It's on me", the half orc said, all too cheerfully. He really didn't get to stay all that much in a tavern, even less with company.

Valdyr hesitated for a moment. "Alright. Just let me take my bags up," he sighed, as he started going up the stairs, towards their room. Maybe he'd enjoy a bit of company too, for a change. That might help him to feel less grumpy.

"Alright", Horknath made a salute like gesture at him and walked up to the place where they served drinks. Much to his joy, the bearded human bartender didn't seem to really care about his fangs or skin colour. "Listen bud, for me it is simple. Got money to pay your drink? Then you're the best person ever", he told him before passing to serve someone else.

"Does that mean you're marrying me, Tyler," a drunk-assed man laughed. He was slumping all over the counter, agitating his glass for it to be filled with some more booze.

"Sure thing. Just let me ask my wife first, then we'll call the priest and the florist", the bartender snorted, refilling his glass. "Don't you think you've had enough drink for tonight, by the way?", he added. Horknath barked a laugh. "Nah. You never have enough."

The man - a tall human with messy, brown hair and a beard that had probably been neatly shaved two weeks ago, weakly smiled at the bartender, as he lifted his glass. Then he smiled at Horknath. "Dude, I need a witness. You in?"

Horknath raised a brow, not believing the guy was talking with him. But hell, he was probably drunk enough. So he snorted, smiling. "Yeah, sure thing. Let me just break out my best outfit and I'm in", he said.
The bartender scoffed with a smile, turning around to serve someone else.

The man laughed drunkenly. "Heeeyyy I like you. What's yer name, big boy?"

"Horknath", the half-orc answered, raising his glass at the man. "What about you?", he added, pouring some of his own brew in the glass mixing it with the whiskey. Hey, no one told him not to.

The man took a while to think about it for a second. Well, at first it seemed like he was thinking. But then he turned on the side, holding back a sneeze, and when he finally did sneeze... a line of fire came out of one of his hands. "Aw crap," he whined, as one of the other customers yelled "TYLER PLEASE STOP GIVING YVAN SOMETHING TO DRINK", as he was turning off the fire that caught on his coat.

Horknath blinked, eyes wide. He observed people hurrying and cussing to put off the small fire. He whistled lowly. "Well. That's hot. Literally." He raised his glass at Yvan again. "Careful with that though, I don't really want a fresh new burn."

Yvan sighed, and raised his glass back at Horknath, before gulping it down in one quick, sad go.
When Valdyr came down the stairs, he narrowed his eyes at the little commotion, then climbed up a chair by Horknath's side. "What the hell just happened in here?"

"Things got heated", Horknath answered, absent mindedly. Oh, good pun. He gestured for Tyler to pour something more to him, something else for Valdyr and something light for Yvan. "That's on me", he said. Well that man gave him a good laugh, a payback seemed nice.
At just one chair of distance from the dwarf, an elf shook their head with a sigh. "The usual Yvan."

Yvan pointed at the elf, sniffling. "I don't need your sarcasm right now. You know how that makes me feel." He started sobbing grossly, too drunk for this world.
Valdyr eyed everyone suspiciously. "Okaaaay. I think I'll drink one beer, and then head back up."

"Oh, you don't like company? We're just getting started here." The elf smiled at the dwarf, a twinkle in her eyes. "Don't do that, Yvan. You know how much I hate it when you start to whine. Your fault you got drunk", she added, maybe a bit mercilessly, as she took a shot of liquor in a tiny glass.
Horknath huffed. "Aren't you being too hard on the poor guy? Give him a bit of rest." He looked at him, a bit worried. "Hey, you ok?"

Yvan whined and let his head rest on the counter yet again. "My wife left me," he barely articulated. Yet everyone in that bar perfectly knew he had never been married. He was always overdramatic when drunk.